#xkcd No. 3011
Date: 2024-11-13
Title: Europa Clipper
Alt text: They had BETTER make this a sample return mission.
https://xkcd.com/3011/
xkcd
#xkcd No. 3012
Date: 2024-11-15
Title: The Future of Orion
Alt text: Dinosaur Cosmics
https://xkcd.com/3012/
#xkcd No. 3006
Date: 2024-11-1
Title: Demons
Alt text: Though they do appreciate how much he improved the heating system for the flame pit.
https://xkcd.com/3006/
#xkcd No. 3192
Date: 2026-1-9
Title: Planetary Alignment
Alt text: We're going to need to modify the surface to mount it on the test stand. Which ocean basin do you like the least?
https://xkcd.com/3192/
#xkcd No. 3187
Date: 2025-12-29
Title: High Altitude Cooking Instructions
Alt text: 1,300,000-1,400,000 ft: Ask a crew member to show you how to use the ISS food warmer.
https://xkcd.com/3187/
![Description:
A close-up view of the back of a food package, showing a section for high-altitude cooking instructions.
Transcript:
[The comic shows two text boxes on what appears to be a food package.]
[First text box, partially cut off at the top.]
...REMOVE FROM HEAT... FOR 3 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING.
[Second text box.]
HIGH ALTITUDE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
3,500-6,500 FT: ADD 1/2 CUP WATER, INCREASE COOK TIME TO 12 MINUTES
6,500-9,500 FT: ADD 1 1/4 CUPS WATER, INCREASE COOK TIME TO 18 MINUTES
250,000-450,000 FT: ORIENT REENTRY VEHICLE FOR AERODYNAMIC STABILITY. DEPLOY PARACHUTES AT 10,000 FT. DESCEND, KEEPING CREW CAPSULE TIGHTLY COVERED, FOR 3-4 MINUTES. AFTER SPLASHDOWN, FOLLOW SEA LEVEL COOKING INSTRUCTIONS](/proxy/post_attachment/947745/48e2cfdc9c.png "Description:
A close-up view of the back of a food package, showing a section for high-altitude cooking instructions.
Transcript:
[The comic shows two text boxes on what appears to be a food package.]
[First text box, partially cut off at the top.]
...REMOVE FROM HEAT... FOR 3 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING.
[Second text box.]
HIGH ALTITUDE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
3,500-6,500 FT: ADD 1/2 CUP WATER, INCREASE COOK TIME TO 12 MINUTES
6,500-9,500 FT: ADD 1 1/4 CUPS WATER, INCREASE COOK TIME TO 18 MINUTES
250,000-450,000 FT: ORIENT REENTRY VEHICLE FOR AERODYNAMIC STABILITY. DEPLOY PARACHUTES AT 10,000 FT. DESCEND, KEEPING CREW CAPSULE TIGHTLY COVERED, FOR 3-4 MINUTES. AFTER SPLASHDOWN, FOLLOW SEA LEVEL COOKING INSTRUCTIONS")
#xkcd No. 3015
Date: 2024-11-22
Title: D&D Combinatorics
Alt text: Look, you can't complain about this after giving us so many scenarios involving N locked chests and M unlabeled keys.
https://xkcd.com/3015/
#xkcd No. 3188
Date: 2025-12-31
Title: Anyone Else Here
Alt text: Anyone else watching this Youtube video in 1954? If so, my last trip definitely messed with the timeline.
https://xkcd.com/3188/
![Description:
A drawing of a YouTube comments section. Three comments are shown, each from a different user avatar. A caption is at the bottom of the panel.
Transcript:
[The panel shows a mock YouTube comments section.]
Header: 564 COMMENTS
Comment 1: WHO ELSE IS HERE IN 2023?
Comment 2: IS ANYONE ELSE WATCHING THIS IN 2017?
Comment 3: ANYONE ELSE HERE IN 2025??
Caption: FOR SOME REASON, CONFUSED TIME TRAVELERS ALWAYS TRY TO FIND EACH OTHER USING YOUTUBE COMMENTS.](/proxy/post_attachment/949423/a6dfd41568.png "Description:
A drawing of a YouTube comments section. Three comments are shown, each from a different user avatar. A caption is at the bottom of the panel.
Transcript:
[The panel shows a mock YouTube comments section.]
Header: 564 COMMENTS
Comment 1: WHO ELSE IS HERE IN 2023?
Comment 2: IS ANYONE ELSE WATCHING THIS IN 2017?
Comment 3: ANYONE ELSE HERE IN 2025??
Caption: FOR SOME REASON, CONFUSED TIME TRAVELERS ALWAYS TRY TO FIND EACH OTHER USING YOUTUBE COMMENTS.")
#xkcd No. 3017
Date: 2024-11-27
Title: Neutrino Modem
Alt text: Our sysadmin accidentally won a Nobel Prize while trying to debug neutrino oscillation error correction.
https://xkcd.com/3017/
#xkcd No. 3018
Date: 2024-11-29
Title: Second Stage
Alt text: Hmm, they won't do in-flight delivery, so let's order a new first and second stage to our emergency landing site and then try to touch down on top of them to save time.
https://xkcd.com/3018/
#xkcd No. 3189
Date: 2026-1-2
Title: Conic Sections
Alt text: They're not generally used for crewed spacecraft because astronauts HATE going around the corners.
https://xkcd.com/3189/
![Description:
A diagram shows Earth and a satellite. A dashed line depicts an absurd orbital path, wrapping partly around Earth before forming a large rectangle.
Transcript:
[The image shows a diagram of the Earth and a satellite. The satellite's path is indicated by a dashed line. The line follows a partial orbit around the Earth, then extends far out into space, makes two sharp right-angle turns, and heads back towards the satellite, forming a shape like an unrolled cone with the Earth at its circular base.]
Caption below the panel: ALL KEPLERIAN ORBITS ARE CONIC SECTIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS ONE USES THE BASE OF THE CONE.](/proxy/post_attachment/951691/344424a540.png "Description:
A diagram shows Earth and a satellite. A dashed line depicts an absurd orbital path, wrapping partly around Earth before forming a large rectangle.
Transcript:
[The image shows a diagram of the Earth and a satellite. The satellite's path is indicated by a dashed line. The line follows a partial orbit around the Earth, then extends far out into space, makes two sharp right-angle turns, and heads back towards the satellite, forming a shape like an unrolled cone with the Earth at its circular base.]
Caption below the panel: ALL KEPLERIAN ORBITS ARE CONIC SECTIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS ONE USES THE BASE OF THE CONE.")
#xkcd No. 3021
Date: 2024-12-6
Title: Seismologists
Alt text: And even when they're not distracted, they usually get kicked out for illegal under-the-net 'subduction spikes'.
https://xkcd.com/3021/
#xkcd No. 3201
Date: 2026-1-30
Title: Proof Without Content
Alt text: There's also a proof without content of a conjecture without content, but it's left as an exercise for the reader.
https://xkcd.com/3201/
![Description:
A formal diagram mimics a mathematical theorem. A top box states a conjecture about content-free proofs, followed by a second box labeled "Proof" that contains absolutely nothing but whitespace.
Transcript:
CONJECTURE:
[Box containing text:] IT'S POSSIBLE TO CONSTRUCT A CONVINCING PROOF WITHOUT WORDS, PICTURES, OR CONTENT OF ANY KIND.
PROOF:
[A large, rectangular box is completely empty.]
Caption: PROOFS WITHOUT WORDS ARE COOL, BUT WE CAN GO FURTHER.](/proxy/post_attachment/979346/4b5ba5ff57.png "Description:
A formal diagram mimics a mathematical theorem. A top box states a conjecture about content-free proofs, followed by a second box labeled \"Proof\" that contains absolutely nothing but whitespace.
Transcript:
CONJECTURE:
[Box containing text:] IT'S POSSIBLE TO CONSTRUCT A CONVINCING PROOF WITHOUT WORDS, PICTURES, OR CONTENT OF ANY KIND.
PROOF:
[A large, rectangular box is completely empty.]
Caption: PROOFS WITHOUT WORDS ARE COOL, BUT WE CAN GO FURTHER.")
#xkcd No. 3008
Date: 2024-11-6
Title: Proterozoic Rocks
Alt text: These rocks are from a time before eyes, brains, and bones, pieces of a land warmed by an unseen sun.
https://xkcd.com/3008/
#xkcd No. 3016
Date: 2024-11-25
Title: Cold Air
Alt text: We also should really have checked that the old water tower was disconnected from the water system before we started filling it with compressed air.
https://xkcd.com/3016/
#xkcd No. 3228
Date: 2026-4-3
Title: Day Counter
Alt text: It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
https://xkcd.com/3228/
![Description:
A single-panel comic shows a workplace setting. Above the characters hangs a large sign styled like a safety record board. Below the sign, Ponytail and White Hat stand talking on the left. In the center, Cueball sits at a desk typing on a laptop. On the right, Megan walks away from the group.
Transcript:
[A sign hangs on the wall.]
Sign: IT HAS BEEN
Sign: -0.0000000000000044
Sign: DAYS SINCE OUR LAST FLOATING POINT ERROR
[Below the sign, Ponytail and White Hat stand together. Cueball is sitting at a desk working on a laptop. Megan is walking away to the right.]](/proxy/post_attachment/1020965/445a72182d.png "Description:
A single-panel comic shows a workplace setting. Above the characters hangs a large sign styled like a safety record board. Below the sign, Ponytail and White Hat stand talking on the left. In the center, Cueball sits at a desk typing on a laptop. On the right, Megan walks away from the group.
Transcript:
[A sign hangs on the wall.]
Sign: IT HAS BEEN
Sign: -0.0000000000000044
Sign: DAYS SINCE OUR LAST FLOATING POINT ERROR
[Below the sign, Ponytail and White Hat stand together. Cueball is sitting at a desk working on a laptop. Megan is walking away to the right.]")
#xkcd No. 3123
Date: 2025-8-1
Title: Canon
Alt text: Achilles was a mighty warrior, but his Achilles' heel was his heel.
https://xkcd.com/3123/
#xkcd No. 3224
Date: 2026-3-25
Title: Centimeter Wavelengths
Alt text: Yes, the cosmic microwave background is great, but what about the earthly microwave foreground?
https://xkcd.com/3224/
![Description:
A line graph comparing "Nobel Prizes Awarded As A Result" on the x-axis with "Time Spent Debugging Centimeter-Wavelength Antennas" on the y-axis. There are many data points at zero Nobel Prizes, clustered vertically, and one single data point at one Nobel Prize, situated lower on the y-axis.
Transcript:
[A scatter plot graph.]
Y-axis label: [An arrow pointing up] TIME SPENT DEBUGGING CENTIMETER-WAVELENGTH ANTENNAS
X-axis label: [An arrow pointing right] NOBEL PRIZES AWARDED AS A RESULT
[The x-axis has tick marks at 0 and 1.]
[A cluster of many dots goes straight up along the y-axis, directly above the 0 mark. A bracket encompasses this vertical line of dots.]
Text next to bracket: I.T. PEOPLE TROUBLE-SHOOTING WIFI ISSUES
[There is a single dot situated halfway up the graph, directly above the 1 mark on the x-axis.]
Text below single dot: PENZIAS & WILSON
Caption below comic: I JUST THINK THE OTHER PEOPLE WORKING IN THE FIELD DESERVE AT LEAST A *LITTLE* RECOGNITION.](/proxy/post_attachment/1015587/00373aad39.png "Description:
A line graph comparing \"Nobel Prizes Awarded As A Result\" on the x-axis with \"Time Spent Debugging Centimeter-Wavelength Antennas\" on the y-axis. There are many data points at zero Nobel Prizes, clustered vertically, and one single data point at one Nobel Prize, situated lower on the y-axis.
Transcript:
[A scatter plot graph.]
Y-axis label: [An arrow pointing up] TIME SPENT DEBUGGING CENTIMETER-WAVELENGTH ANTENNAS
X-axis label: [An arrow pointing right] NOBEL PRIZES AWARDED AS A RESULT
[The x-axis has tick marks at 0 and 1.]
[A cluster of many dots goes straight up along the y-axis, directly above the 0 mark. A bracket encompasses this vertical line of dots.]
Text next to bracket: I.T. PEOPLE TROUBLE-SHOOTING WIFI ISSUES
[There is a single dot situated halfway up the graph, directly above the 1 mark on the x-axis.]
Text below single dot: PENZIAS & WILSON
Caption below comic: I JUST THINK THE OTHER PEOPLE WORKING IN THE FIELD DESERVE AT LEAST A *LITTLE* RECOGNITION.")
#xkcd No. 3022
Date: 2024-12-9
Title: Making Tea
Alt text: No, of course we don't microwave the mug WITH the teabag in it. We microwave the teabag separately.
https://xkcd.com/3022/
#xkcd No. 3009
Date: 2024-11-8
Title: Number Shortage
Alt text: "10 minutes ago we were down to only 2 0s!" "How many do we have now?" "I ... don't know!!"
https://xkcd.com/3009/
#xkcd No. 3234
Date: 2026-4-17
Title: Europa Missions
Alt text: Before resurfacing, they promise to inspect the ice for any evidence of hockey-playing life.
https://xkcd.com/3234/
![Description:
A 3-panel comic shows Cueball presenting images of spacecraft to Ponytail and Hairy. The first two screens show satellites, but the final screen displays a rocket-propelled Zamboni machine.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
[Cueball stands next to a screen displaying a satellite with long rectangular solar panels.]
Cueball: THERE ARE NOW THREE SPACECRAFT HEADED TO EUROPA: NASA'S EUROPA CLIPPER, WHICH WILL INVESTIGATE EUROPA'S SUBSURFACE OCEAN,
Panel 2:
[Cueball points to a screen showing a different satellite with cross-shaped solar arrays. Ponytail and Hairy stand beside him, listening.]
Cueball: ESA'S JUPITER ICY MOONS ORBITER, WHICH WILL STUDY THE TOPOGRAPHY AND CHEMISTRY OF EUROPA AND THE OTHER MOONS,
Panel 3:
[Cueball stands next to a screen displaying a Zamboni ice resurfacer equipped with a rocket thruster on the bottom.]
Cueball: AND THE NHL'S ZAMBONI VOYAGER, WHICH PLANS TO RESURFACE EUROPA.
Cueball: WE TRIED TO STOP THEM, BUT THE LEAGUE IS SET ON AN EXPANSION.
Off-screen voice: OH NO.](/proxy/post_attachment/1037821/41ad8117eb.png "Description:
A 3-panel comic shows Cueball presenting images of spacecraft to Ponytail and Hairy. The first two screens show satellites, but the final screen displays a rocket-propelled Zamboni machine.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
[Cueball stands next to a screen displaying a satellite with long rectangular solar panels.]
Cueball: THERE ARE NOW THREE SPACECRAFT HEADED TO EUROPA: NASA'S EUROPA CLIPPER, WHICH WILL INVESTIGATE EUROPA'S SUBSURFACE OCEAN,
Panel 2:
[Cueball points to a screen showing a different satellite with cross-shaped solar arrays. Ponytail and Hairy stand beside him, listening.]
Cueball: ESA'S JUPITER ICY MOONS ORBITER, WHICH WILL STUDY THE TOPOGRAPHY AND CHEMISTRY OF EUROPA AND THE OTHER MOONS,
Panel 3:
[Cueball stands next to a screen displaying a Zamboni ice resurfacer equipped with a rocket thruster on the bottom.]
Cueball: AND THE NHL'S ZAMBONI VOYAGER, WHICH PLANS TO RESURFACE EUROPA.
Cueball: WE TRIED TO STOP THEM, BUT THE LEAGUE IS SET ON AN EXPANSION.
Off-screen voice: OH NO.")
#xkcd No. 3019
Date: 2024-12-2
Title: Advent Calendar Advent Calendar
Alt text: The growth rate of items per day may may seem absurd, but it's actually much less than the acceleration in the 12 Days of Christmas song.
https://xkcd.com/3019/
#xkcd No. 3031
Date: 2024-12-30
Title: Time Capsule Instructions
Alt text: Inside is a third box, labeled DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU ARE IN THE TIME ZONE WHERE YOU OPENED BOTH PREVIOUS BOXES.
https://xkcd.com/3031/
#xkcd No. 3194
Date: 2026-1-14
Title: 16 Part Epoxy
Alt text: Some surfaces may seem difficult to glue. But if you research the materials, find tables of what adhesives work on them, and prepare your surfaces carefully, you can fail to glue them in a fun NEW way that fills your house with dangerous vapors.
https://xkcd.com/3194/
![Description:
A diagram displays an absurd "Standard 16-Part Epoxy" applicator. Instead of two syringes, sixteen are stacked vertically, all connected to one plunger, each containing a different ingredient.
Transcript:
Title: STANDARD 16-PART EPOXY
[The image shows a stack of 16 syringes, labeled from top to bottom:]
RESIN
HARDENER
FILLER
SOFTENER
ROSIN
STUFF THAT BONDS PERMANENTLY TO SKIN AND NOTHING ELSE
STUFF THAT WILL TURN WHITE AND CRACK OVER A FEW DAYS, FOR DECORATIVE APPEARANCE
PLACEBO
MINCED DUCT TAPE
ACETONE FRAGRANCE
POWDERED BAR MAGNETS
POLYETHYLVINYLESTERACETATE
2-POLYETHYLVINYLESTERACETATE
SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE
BLOOD SAMPLE FROM THE GORILLA GLUE GORILLAS
STUFF THAT BONDS TO EVERY KNOWN MATERIAL EXCEPT YOURS](/proxy/post_attachment/964134/ade303efe9.png "Description:
A diagram displays an absurd \"Standard 16-Part Epoxy\" applicator. Instead of two syringes, sixteen are stacked vertically, all connected to one plunger, each containing a different ingredient.
Transcript:
Title: STANDARD 16-PART EPOXY
[The image shows a stack of 16 syringes, labeled from top to bottom:]
RESIN
HARDENER
FILLER
SOFTENER
ROSIN
STUFF THAT BONDS PERMANENTLY TO SKIN AND NOTHING ELSE
STUFF THAT WILL TURN WHITE AND CRACK OVER A FEW DAYS, FOR DECORATIVE APPEARANCE
PLACEBO
MINCED DUCT TAPE
ACETONE FRAGRANCE
POWDERED BAR MAGNETS
POLYETHYLVINYLESTERACETATE
2-POLYETHYLVINYLESTERACETATE
SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE
BLOOD SAMPLE FROM THE GORILLA GLUE GORILLAS
STUFF THAT BONDS TO EVERY KNOWN MATERIAL EXCEPT YOURS")
#xkcd No. 3033
Date: 2025-1-3
Title: Origami Black Hole
Alt text: You may notice the first half of these instructions are similar to the instructions for a working nuclear fusion device. After the first few dozen steps, be sure to press down firmly and fold quickly to overcome fusion pressure.
https://xkcd.com/3033/
#xkcd No. 3025
Date: 2024-12-16
Title: Phase Change
Alt text: Even when you try to make nice, smooth ice cubes in a freezer, sometimes one of them will shoot out a random ice spike, which physicists ascribe to kiki conservation.
https://xkcd.com/3025/
